Cats and Mice
by roseangel013
Summary: Cassie was tired, driving practically all day. With exams finally being over, she could go back to her home town of Cape Girardeu, Missouri and relax. Though on the way mother nature doesn't seem to want to give her a break, dropping a freak storm down on her ass. On top of that, she almost hits a girl who seems to appear out of no where. Cassie doesn't know why she feels so drawn.
1. Lost

Cats and Mice

Chapter 1: Lost

Cassie was tired. She had been driving from Athens since 12:30 that afternoon. Summer vacation had finally arrived and she was anxious to get home. She was relatively sure she passed all her exams, but she wanted to get away from the memory of anxiety of the surroundings.

Her original plan was to leave campus early and get home just before dark, but a friend of hers who lives in Madisonville demanded that Cassie visits her for a while. Cassie said she would stay for an hour, but she hadn't seen her friend in so long; they ended up talking for six and a half hours.

By the time she left, Cassie could place both the Big and Little Dippers in the crystal clear Kentucky sky. She always did have a knack for astronomy. Stars and constellations were always beautiful to her. Every night when she was a kid, she would wait till her parents went to bed to climb onto the roof and map out all the stars and constellations with her fingers.

She once attempted to draw out all 17 stars that made up Hercules and always confused those of Ophiuchus and Aquila.

Though as she drove farther down route 146, fifteen miles from the turn off into town, the previously clear sky began to darken with cumulonimbus clouds, promising heavy rain. Lo and behold, not five minutes later it was pouring.

It came down in thick droplets; on top of the immense amount coming down, it seemed as though the heavens were pouring down onto the road. It was getting harder and harder to see, what with Cassie's headlights being the only source of light to illuminate the long stretch of road which ran through the woods.

Her windshield wipers were on the highest setting they would go, the sound of the sharp, rubber wipers sliding and banging against the windshield nearly inaudible due to the intense weather.

Cassie let out a groan of frustration as her windows began to fog up, making it that much harder to see.

Did the universe have it out for her _specifically_ today?

She looked down her console and hit both the front and rear defrosters and cranked up the air conditioning in the hopes that would make it somewhat easier to see through her windshield.

But when Cassie went to hit the second defrost button, she accidentally ended up turning on the radio instead and ACDC's Highway to Hell began to blare through the car's speakers.

The impromptu noise caused Cassie to jerk the wheel a little bit, causing her to swerve onto the shoulder and the opposite lane before she was able to get back on her side of the highway.

It was a good thing there were no other cars out there because Cassie wasn't sure if she could handle any more bad luck tonight.

But it seemed the universe wasn't done with her just yet.

When she reached to turn off the music, Cassie looked away from the road in order to make sure she pushed the right button this time, so she didn't notice the half-naked girl wandering down the middle of the street.

The only reason Cassie didn't hit the girl was because a freak crash of lightning lit up the sky and the resounding boom of thunder sounded like someone breaking a wooden broom over someone's back, cracking the person's spine as a result.

The sound caused Cassie to jerk her head up, seeing the girl just in time to swerve past her, the water on the road causing the car tires to lose traction and skid a little down the highway.

Once her car came to a complete stop, Cassie tried not to panic. At first, she thought she had hallucinated the girl because when she went to look in her rearview mirror, there was no one there. However, when she looked in her side mirrors, she saw the girl lying on the ground.

"Shit!" Cassie exclaimed as she rushed to open the driver's door, resulting in her becoming drenched in water and humid air, but Cassie didn't care, she just wanted to make sure the girl was alright.

"Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead." She continued to repeat as though the words really would make the girl stay alive.

The girl was lying on her stomach, her brown hair scattered all around her head, obviously unconscious; Cassie let out a sigh of relief when she saw the girl's back move up and down with the rapid breaths she took in.

The closer Cassie got, the more of the girl she could see, though it was difficult in such dim lighting. There were several cuts and bruises on her body. Some of the bruises were reddish and some were dark purplish, and if Cassie looked hard enough, she could see that quite a few of the bruises almost looked… _finger_ shaped. Most of the cuts were bleeding steadily, so Cassie knew they had to be deep, the rain doing a good job mixing and washing it away. Though quite a bit of it was stubborn enough not to, covering the girl as well.

"What the hell happened to you?" She silently asked, going to touch the girl, who jumped slightly at the contact.

She opened her eyes slightly, enough to see through her long locks and take in some of her surroundings. Her expression was one of confusion and fear, though it didn't last long as her eyes began to droop as she once again neared unconsciousness.

"Woah, hey, stay with me." Cassie tried to help the girl to her feet; she wobbled a lot when she stood.

"I need you to stay awake long enough for me to get you to my car. Can you do that?" Cassie tried to bargain; the girl seemed conscious enough to hear her because she moaned out her weary confirmation and her legs strengthened slightly as she attempted to take a few steps forward.

Despite the warm summer rain, the girl's skin was ice cold, enough to make even Cassie shiver; when the light skinned girl looked down at the stranger in her arms, she noticed just how pale she looked – _a ghostly white shade that Cassie figured was once a golden tan._

She really needed to get this girl to a hospital.

"P-please, do-don't let them… t-take me back," the girl murmured breathily.

Cassie pulled the rear door on the driver's side open and eased the girl onto the seat, almost not catching the tired words she had just uttered.

"Don't let who take you? Back where?" Cassie figured this girl was running from someone with her current state, but she needed to know who in order to help.

The girl didn't answer immediately, now in the safety of Cassie's car where she knew she could pass out without as much fear.

During her delay, Cassie shut the back door and opened the driver's door, jumping in and immediately hauling ass to get to the hospital. She wasn't that far from Cape Girardeau and figured she would go to the hospital there.

Cassie kept looking back at the girl in the backseat, noticing her shivering heavily and turned up the heat. The two made eye contact for a brief moment.

"They'll hurt…I can't," She spoke in broken fragments that Cassie barely understood.

"Who?" Cassie asked as the car passed the 'Welcome' sign to her hometown. _Now long now._

"My b–" Before she could finish her sentence, the girl passed out, her head rolling to the side though the rapid rise and fall of chest an indication of such.

At the abrupt halt in speech, Cassie looked worriedly in her rearview mirror at the now unconscious girl.

"Damn it." She cursed.

The hospital was now in view and the light skinned girl swerved into the emergency room entrance, in the lane reserved for ambulances.

When she pulled in, a man in a white nurse's outfit, not much older Cassie, came out through the sliding glass doors.

"Ma'am, you can't park here. This area is reserved for ambulances; you need to move your vehicle to the other lane."

"I can't. I found this girl walking down the highway, scared out of mind and covered in blood and bruises." Cassie motioned to her backseat, where the girl was still unconscious, but her breathing appeared to have increased drastically.

"She can't breathe!" Cassie threw open the door to her car and pulled the girl to the edge, so her bare feet were on the concrete.

"Move back Miss." The nurse said and Cassie complied with reluctant ease. "I need some help out here!"

Three nurses and a doctor ran out with a stretcher and the nurse pulled the girl the rest of the way out of the car and gently placed her on the gurney.

There was so much going on; Cassie couldn't keep up. Someone said something about a seizure, another, something about tests.

"We have to get her inside," The doctor said, making her way back to the hospital's entrance.

Cassie just stood by her car, scared and confused. Though not for herself, but for the girl she nearly hit – _she wasn't even completely sure she hadn't hit her._

Though she couldn't be _too_ much younger than Cassie and she didn't even know her, she felt responsible for the girl. Maybe it was because she _did_ almost hit her with her car; maybe it was the scared look in her eyes and being so reliant on Cassie when they first met. All she knew was she wanted _– needed –_ to help her in any way she could.

The girl simply gave off this irresistible wave that made Cassie feel obligated to help and make sure she was okay.

"Miss, you need to move your car, then a deputy is on the way to talk to you." The nurse from before called from the door.

"Y-yeah. Okay." Cassie could do that. If she talked to the police, she could get the girl the protection she needed. She may not know a lot, but she knew enough to help. Even if a little.

Besides, talking to the police helped.

Right?


	2. Drugged

Chapter 2: Drugged

A deputy arrived a little while after Cassie came into the waiting room after she parked her car. No one had come out to tell her anything, except that they were running some tests.

They couldn't even tell her what all tests they were performing, but Cassie suggested they do a rape test, which she received a suspicious eyebrow raise from Dr. Barnes for.

"She had bruises on her arms and a lot of other parts of her body that I could see, so I wouldn't be surprised." Cassie had told her.

The doctor had nodded before walking away; Cassie had been sitting in the same chair ever since.

Deputy Evens walked into the waiting room looking as though he hadn't been asleep at all, which was surprising, to say the least seeing as though it was now well past midnight. He smiled when his eyes landed on Cassie.

"Back less than 3 hours and you're already in the hospital. That had to be a new record, Robinson." He said when he was within earshot of the light skinned girl.

Cassie rolled her eyes with a huff, "What can I say? Trouble seems to find me wherever I go." They both laughed openly at that as Cassie stood up to give the deputy a friendly reunion hug.

The two had been friends since they were little, though Gabriel Evens was two and a half years older than her; they were like siblings.

When Cassie was younger, she was a bit of a daredevil. Always getting into something that caused her to go the hospital practically every other week. She went well with Gabriel because he was quite the trickster.

He constantly played jokes on people, leaving behind candy wrappers in his wake as his calling card. Their parents thought they were a terrible team, but the two were so close, it didn't really matter.

It was hard for the two of them to adjust after Cassie left for college and Gabriel began training to be a deputy, but whenever she was back in town, the dynamic duo was at it once more.

"So you hit a naked girl in the middle of the highway, in the rain? Normally you're the only one hurt during one of your little escapades." The two sat back down in the two corner chairs Cassie had previously been occupying.

"Ha ha, very funny," Cassie's sarcasm was a bit more bitter than she intended it to be, but if Gabriel noticed, he didn't let it show. "I made a stop in Maddison to visit a friend and left later than I intended which was why I was coming in so late. I was driving in, about to turn onto route 66 when this girl literally came out of nowhere. I looked down for a second, then she was in the middle of the street." Cassie throws her hands in the air in exasperation, causing Gabriel to have to pull back slightly back so to avoid a fist to the nose.

"I take it you didn't see which direction she came from." It was more of a statement that a question.

"I'm more worried about 'what' she was running from than where." Cassie lowered her voice, leaning slightly towards her friend. She spoke in a lowered tone, her voice worried and serious. "She looked so scared Gabe. I mean she couldn't have been older than me, actually, I'm pretty sure she was younger. She had blood and bruises all over her and–"

Cassie would never forget the fearful expression on the girl's face, no matter how brief it might have been before the girl nearly passed out. She has never seen fear like that, not even on tv.

Gabriel took Cassie's hands in his own, the raven haired girl not even realizing she had begun to shake.

"It's okay Cas. We'll help her." Cassie nodded numbly but otherwise didn't say anything. "Did she say anything before she passed out? The nurse said she was passed out when you got here." Gabriel spoke cautiously as to not set off his friend.

"She said 'don't let them get me'; when I asked who, she didn't get to finish before she passed out, but it sounded like she was gonna say 'boyfriends'."

"Boyfriends plural?" Gabriel asked in confusion.

"Polygamy isn't uncommon in America or any other country for that matter, Gabe. In some countries, both polygamy and incest are extremely common." Cassie stated offhandedly. "And she said 'they', so I only assume she meant more than one."

"No– I mean I know that, but if there is more than one suspect, then we should be looking out for a pair instead of a single perp. That narrows it down some." The last part was said a bit quieter, and Cassie knew the deputy was making a mental note.

Just as Cassie was about to comment more, Dr. Barnes walked into the waiting room, looking tired and ready to go home.

Gabriel noticed her walk in and immediately stood to meet her in the space where the hallways leading to other parts of the hospital met.

"You're looking pretty tired Pam. Long day?" The deputy asked with a playful smile.

"Long week," Pamela let out a tired huff of air. "And getting longer. The Jane Doe that was brought in was apparently pumped full of Rohypnol– more than strictly necessary– which explains her episode when she came in."

"She was roofied?" It came out as more of a question than the statement that Gabriel intended it to be.

"Yeah, and with the dosage, she was given, she shouldn't have been conscious for as long as she was, let alone have been able to stand or even be alive," Pamela said in astonishment.

"Did you do the test?" Cassie spoke up, needing to know how intense the girl's injuries were. She wouldn't be surprised if she had been raped; the roofies just furthered her curiosity.

Dr. Barnes looked over at Cassie, eyes sad but earnest. "I brought up one of the hospital SANE's; they did find two separate sets of DNA in her. I can give them to you Deputy so you can run them at the station."

Cassie held her breath, not even listening to Gabriel's reply or the rest of the conversation. She couldn't even begin to imagine what that girl might have gone through. How would she handle her recovery; would she even get to that stage where she could recover?

"I got her pumped in time that nothing else severe will happen, but we're gonna keep her overnight just in case."

Cassie pulled Gabriel close to her to whisper in his ear, "If she really is running from someone, and they knew she was injured, the first place they would look is a hospital."

"Doctors and nurses will check in on her hourly, plus there are no visitors allowed in the ICU even if it is visiting hours." Dr. Barnes piped in, obviously hearing the conversation. "She'll be fine until morning. Even then, you can send a deputy over before visiting hours just in case."

Cassie felt a little better hearing that. As long as the girl wasn't unguarded and vulnerable. But it wasn't enough to put the light skinned girl completely at ease.

"She won't wake up until daybreak at the earliest and I can have the security guards keep an eye out on her room." The doctor added when she noticed Cassie was still tense.

"O-okay." She relaxed a bit more; Gabriel squeezed her shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"I will be back by seven because I need at least 4 hours of sleep in my own bed in order to maintain my hospital regulated bedside manner."

Gabriel nodded in understanding, having come face to face with an overworked Pamela Barnes one too many times in the past.

"I will bring the sheriff by in the morning to talk to her. Have a goodnight Doc." Gabriel said giving the doctor a warm smile, who returned it, though slightly tired, and made her way back down the hall.

Once the doctor was out of sight, Gabriel turned back to Cassie, who was still looking down the hallway Dr. Barnes left down.

"Cas," He took her shoulders in his hands in order to get her attention. She turned to look at him, her eyes slightly lethargic. "You should go home too. You've been driving practically all day and you're exhausted after everything that has happened tonight."

"I can't–" She started, but Gabriel cut her off.

"I'll watch the kid tonight and call the sheriff in the morning. I have the graveyard shift anyway. Might as well spend it doing something meaningful."

Cassie really didn't want to leave the girl. She felt a strange urge to protect her with everything she had, but she didn't know why. Maybe she felt obligated to because she found the girl. But it felt deeper than mere obligation.

Something about her just felt…familiar.

"Alright," She relented with a tired sigh, "but I'll be back in the morning."

"I wouldn't expect it any other way." Gabriel bowed dramatically. "Sleep well,"

Cassie hugged her friend one more time before heading back out to the parking lot.


	3. Dazed and Confused

Chapter 3: Dazed and Confused

Cassie arrived back at the hospital at 8:30. Her original plan was to beat Dr. Barnes there, but Gabriel insisted she eat and shower first because the girl was still unconscious. Cassie didn't really see why she couldn't take her time.

She took a long, hot shower, enjoying the time she had before going back to the hospital. She stopped at a Starbucks a few blocks from the hospital for coffee because she knew Gabriel probably needed it.

Cassie knew she didn't have to go back, but something about this girl really made Cassie worried for her. She didn't know why and that was slightly bothersome to her.

"She's upstairs," Dr. Barnes told Cassie when she came into the hospital; the two walked to room 307 where the girl was in. "I had her moved out of ICU when I came in because she was stable enough to be moved."

The way Pamela talked told Cassie there was something else.

"What is it?" She asked cautiously, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.

Pamela stopped, prompting Cassie to stop as well, but Gabriel kept going, taking a deep breath.

"She's awake," The doctor sighed.

Cassie raised an eyebrow, not seeing what was so bad about. It was wonderful news actually. Unless she was still sick or something.

Pamela noticed the expression on the younger woman's face and tried to explain.

"It's not bad, she's just–"

A loud clatter cut her off, scaring Cassie and causing her to jump, before a loud voice shouted, "I don't want to talk to anyone unless that girl from last night is here!"

Cassie looked at Pamela briefly before jogging to the door.

 _Why did she want to see Cassie?_

Gabriel and a male nurse were standing in front of the girl from the night before, who was standing in the farthest corner of the room, looking like a scared, caged animal ready to attack anyone who got too close. She held the IV stand _– with the needle still in her arm, looking like it was pulling something fierce, and it was a miracle it was tearing the skin –_ holding it as though it were a weapon or shield for defense.

She looked over at the door when she noticed Cassie standing there.

"Can you please tell these guys to back the hell away from me?" She asked, trying to hide her obvious fear with anger and annoyance.

"We're only trying to help you, sweet cheeks." Gabriel tried yet again to explain to the girl.

Cassie saw the girl flinch slightly at the nickname, and tensed more, her grip on the stand tightening.

"I don't know what for. I'm fine and don't need any help." Her eyes looked wildly back and forth between both men.

"Gabe, based on what happened to her, do you _really_ expect her to trust men right now?" Cassie asked as though he were an idiot.

"She almost ripped the IV out of her arm when she woke up," the nurse turned to Doctor Barnes, though it was obvious he was talking to Cassie. "we were only trying to make sure she didn't hurt herself and she flipped out."

Cassie noticed a bruise on the side of the guy's head and she wondered if the girl threw something or hit him in her attempt to protect herself.

"Were you the one who was checking in on her when she woke up?" Cassie asked, narrowing her eyes.

The guy hesitated, but answered. "Yeah, but –"

"Then my point still stands." Cassie put her hands on her hips. "Leave. Dr. Barnes and I will handle her." Her voice was calm but firm as she spoke, not leaving any room for argument.

The nurse looked ticked off as he stormed past Cassie, mumbling something unintelligible as he did, throwing nasty glances back at the girl, who stuck her tongue out at him like a child.

Gabriel refused to leave the room, so he instead chose to stand close to the door, behind Cassie and the doctor in order to seem less intimidating to the girl.

"Can you sit back on the bed now?" Dr. Barnes asked from the door; the girl gave a hesitant nod, her whole demeanor changing in seconds.

Cassie thought her mood swing was odd, but with what happened to her, who knows what all was going through her mind.

"What did you mean?" The girl asked once she was back on the bed, her IV stand upright as it was supposed to be next to her bed.

Cassie took a few steps towards the bed before catching herself and stopping a few feet away.

"What do _you_ mean?" She asked the girl in reply.

"You said 'based on what happened to me, I wouldn't trust men', what did you mean?" The girl finally looked up at Cassie and the light skinned girl could see the question and a hint of fear in her eyes.

Cassie couldn't really tell what color the girl's eyes were because every time she moved her head, her eyes went from blue to green to sometimes even hazel. Cassie was simply mesmerized before she came back to herself and the topic at hand.

The three standing looked at each other before looking back to the girl. Pamela was the one to step forward, giving the girl a critical look.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

The girl blinked her eyes in confusion, obviously trying to recall a thought that was just too stubborn to come into the light. She continued to bite her lip; Cassie noticed she did that every time someone asked her a question.

"I remember being really cold and wet and in pain. There was pain everywhere. I was walking through some trees and down a street, when this car almost hit me," She shook her head as though the action would cause her memories to unscramble, or even reveal themselves; her light brown – _practically blonde_ – locks brushing over her shoulders and into her face. "it's a really sketchy blur, but I remember you." She looked over at Cassie. "I remember you helping me, then…I don't know. That nurse was standing over me and I freaked. Then you all came in."

No one really knew what to say at first, causing the room to fall silent. The girl seemed to fall back into her mind, trying to recall anything else that might be helpful, but this wasn't an easy feat.

After a while, the girl seemed to come back to herself, realization flooding her because she really couldn't remember _anything._ Not how she ended up out there. If her family was out there looking for her, they wouldn't know the first place to start. Hell, she didn't even know where she was. And then there was the matter of who did this to her. What if it wasn't an accident? What if they were looking for her because they weren't finished with what they started or they thought she might talk? She didn't remember anything, but they didn't know that, so what the fuck was she gonna do if they _did_ find her? Not like she remembered what they looked like.

Out of nowhere, the heart monitor attached to the girl's arm began to beep erratically, causing everyone to jump.

Dr. Barnes looked from the monitor to the girl, keeping her voice calm and inviting when she spoke, "Sweetheart, I need for you to take a deep breath. Can you do that for me?" Pamela made sure not to step too close to the brunette, still a bit unsure how the young girl would react.

Though the girl seemed, once again, lost in herself; her chest rising and falling with the intensity of her breathing.

"Hey," Cassie took the girl's hand, going on a hunch, "no one's gonna hurt you. You're safe."

Everyone held their breaths, uncertain what else to do.

After some time, the EKG machine began to slow and the brunette let out a long breath.

"Okay," Cassie exhaled the breath she hadn't even realized she was still holding. "Do you think you can tell us your name at least?"

Cassie wasn't quite sure what set off the girl's small panic attack, but she hoped asking a simpler question wouldn't do it again.

After a heartbeat, the girl looked up at Cassie with a shudder, her eyes scared, all the anger and fire from when she was fighting off Gabriel and the nurse long gone. It only made Cassie want to help ease the girl's problems and worries even more than before.

"I-I don't know," she replied, the fear in her eyes reflected in her voice.

"What do you mean 'you don't know'?" Gabriel asked incredulously.

The brunette must have taken the deputy's tone as something more than disbelieving because her answer was one part fear, two parts anger.

"You asked and I told you. I can't remember anything before that night. Not even my own name!"

A part of her knew the man didn't mean anything by the way he said that but for some strange reason, it still made her angry; the anger seemed to smother some of her fear, even if only for a short while.

"It's possible that the drugs in your system are still affecting you, if this is the case then your memories should return within two or three days. But the more logical explanation is that you're suffering from PTSD, and your brain is trying to keep you from remembering whatever you experienced by repressing those memories."

"But she doesn't remember anything, including her own name, not just whatever happened to her." Cassie piped in, not quite following the doctor.

"The impact of the 'event' seem to have caused her long-term memory to shut down; depending on how severe or traumatic her memories might be, it might take a minute for her memories to return. This could take days to weeks or even years. No one really knows, but as time goes on, she should be able to remember things in small portions. But I have to caution you," Dr. Barnes turned to the girl on the bed, who is looking frightened once more. "you have to take it slow. Rushing your brain's retrieval of your memories could have undesired effects."

"What kind of 'undesired effects'?" Gabriel asked cautiously. He didn't want to scare the girl, but she deserved to know what could happen to her if she _did_ start to remember.

"Night terrors, stress, anxiety. That's why you need to let this happen on its own. Rushing this process is basically like trying to force someone to do something they just aren't ready for. And they retaliate. So take things slow and you should be fine." Dr. Barnes gave her most comforting smile to help reassure the girl some because she was beginning to look more and more scared and confused.

Cassie wasn't really any better off. She was internally freaking out over this news. She had planned to help this girl get her memories back in any way she could, but that wasn't really an option anymore with the suddenly revealed consequences it might have on the younger girl's mind.

Not to mention the fact that if this girl really was running from someone and she got her memories back, she might have to suffer whatever those memories held, along with whatever else her body might throw at her. She was scared now, but she wasn't so freaked out that she couldn't socialize. Cassie was pretty sure that wouldn't be the case if anything like that happened.

As a matter of fact, Cassie was relatively sure that when this girl started to interact with the world again, she would grow out of her temporary state of fear. It was understandable to be scared for a while with temporary amnesia. Anyone would be. As long as nothing pushed her memories prematurely, everything _should_ be fine.

"So what do we do now?" The girl asked, looking over at Gabriel, still obviously trying to keep her fear and nervousness under control.

"The sheriff was called away. Some incident a couple towns over so you're gonna have to stay at the station until he gets back. Once the doctor gives you the 'OK' to leave that is." Gabriel looked at Pamela as he spoke the last part.

"She can be discharged now. I don't have anything else for her." Pamela looked over at the girl and spoke, "I hope you get your memories back soon, and I'm sorry I couldn't do any more to help."

The girl smiled up at the doctor. "You did all you could. If it weren't for you, and Cassie, of course, I probably wouldn't be alive. I can't thank you enough."

"I was only doing my job. I'll go start the discharge paperwork. Deputy, you'll have to sign her out into police custody." Dr. Barnes said to Gabriel, who nodded, before walking out of the room.

"Hey Gabe, can I talk to you in the hall right quick?" Cassie asked, already heading out the door without waiting for an answer.

"We'll be right back. Not going any farther than just outside the door." Gabriel said to the girl when her face contorted into confusion with a tinge of fear.

Only when she nodded did Gabriel join Cassie out in the hallway.

"What's up?" He asked, though not loud enough for the girl to hear through the door.

"I want her to come home with me," Cassie stated bluntly.

"E-excuse me?" The dark haired deputy stuttered, unsure he heard his friend clearly.

"She should be somewhere she can at least attempt to get back to normal, and who can do that at a police station? On top of that, if there is someone looking for her, the first place they're going to look is either a hospital or…"

"The police station." Gabriel finished, connecting the dots."

"Exactly. And since no one knows what they look like, one of them could walk in claiming to be her brother and no one would ever know the difference. Not even her."

"So you want to hide her out at your place until…when?"

"However long it takes. Be it when the sheriff comes back, till she gets her memory back, or whatever. My mom isn't coming back for a while anyway. I could use the company."

Gabriel thought for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of letting the girl go home with his best friend.

On the downside, if whoever was after the girl found her, then Cassie would be caught in the crossfire.

But on the upside, Cassie's parents' house was so far out of the way, either the sheriff would be back or the girl would get her memory back before anything could happen.

"Okay," He said simply.

"Okay?" Cassie asked skeptically, not quite sure she believed how quick Gabriel was to approve of her idea. She expected at least a little resistance.

"Yeah, your right, and we should hopefully figure everything out before something happens. Plus, she seems to respond to you better. I wonder why that is." Gabriel feigned skepticism. He was pretty sure why that was, but he wanted Cassie to figure it out on her own.

Cassie shrugged. "What can I say? The girl's a great judge of character."

Gabriel laughed as Cassie overdramatically flipped her hair over her shoulder and playfully strutted back into the room.


	4. A Change Has Come

**A/N: It's been a long time since I have posted anything and I truly apologize for that. Seems that's all I do lately. Apologize. But when people told me that junior year was gonna be hard, they were freaking serious. And on top of that, midterms kicked my butt. *exasperated sigh* So now I have a four day weekend which I plan to spend writing. Reading too, but mostly writing. Don't be surprised if this is the only post you see this weekend. This is literally the shortest post I had on hand to type. Bring Me to Life should be next, but I don't have a specific date.**

 **BTW: I made some edits and minor changes to the previous chapters that aren't really mandatory to be seen, but you can if you want to. And if you haven't noticed yet, the title has changed. That's because I have changed the future plot in a way to separate it from Bring Me to Life** _ **(hopefully)**_ **.**

Chapter 4: A Change Has Come

Cassie opened the door to her family's home, the door squeaking on its hinges at the action. The amnesiac brunette following hesitantly behind.

"So, Melody, this is it," Cassie said, her arms stretched out showing the house.

Melody was the name decided for the girl because let's face it, they couldn't keep talking to her in the second person.

At first, Gabriel wanted to call her Anastasia because so many people confuse the name with amnesia. The joke got a whole lotta laughs from the girl. Definitely, more than either Cassie or Gabriel expected. As a matter of fact, 'Mel' as Gabriel called her, couldn't stop laughing and talking with him when she was discharged. So much so that that Cassie ha to force her away with a promise that the deputy would drop by sometime later.

They finally settled on Melody because when Cassie turned the key in the ignition, starting up her car, a medley of different songs began to play from a mixtape her friend made for her, and the girl seemed to immediately adapt and sing along, though she only knew a few words here and there.

Cassie assumed the songs that played were ones the brunette had heard before. Maybe her memories were already slowly beginning to come back.

In a way, that was good, but Cassie was still worried about how traumatic some of her memories might be. She was probably just overreacting. And if she wasn't, she would make the most of Melody's time before she had to deal with the stress of her past.

Melody looked around the house in pure curiosity; the more she saw, the more she relaxed. The house had previously been refurbished while Cassie was away at school, so she did a little observing herself, not really taking the time to do so the night before seeing as though she came in and crashed into her bed in her day clothes.

Though nothing had changed drastically, Cassie did notice some things that were different. Mostly furniture.

All the old couches, automatons, lamps, and even the tv were replaced with newer models of themselves. The house looked old on the outside, and the material of the walls and ceiling made the house look its actual age, but the newer accessories made it look slightly more modern and homey.

Melody made her way into the kitchen, which was on the adjacent wall from the stairs and hallway the two entered, where the front door was.

The first thing that popped out to Melody when she walked into the room was the smell of fresh paint, which told her that the room had also been a part of the renovations that Cassie had mentioned before.

The entire room was like something straight out of a catalog book. The walls were either painted or tiled white. Unlike the popcorn ceiling in the living room, the ceiling was creamy, smooth with a single yet elegant ceiling light.

There was a light brown marble island at the center of the counters, which ran from the entrance to the living room and stopped at another doorway that led to the dining room by the looks of the long table with surrounding chairs, before continuing and ending again at what must have been a back door.

All the kitchen appliances and accessories were a rich onyx that went wonderfully with the white and brown color scheme of the room. The refrigerator looked really expensive, making Melody feel slightly inferior in both size and worth as she stood in front of it. Though that wasn't why it caught her attention.

The immense amount of pictures adorning both the french doors was what made the appliance stand out to her.

The closer she walked towards it, the more she was able to see. There was a lot of pictures of a light-skinned girl of many ages; Melody deduced this must be Cassie. Almost every picture had her in it, either by herself or with someone else.

One of the photos really caught her attention. It was a young couple, a handsome darker skinned black man, and a beautiful white woman. The two were standing in what appeared to be a meadow, though most of it was beautiful, quite a bit of the flower and plant life were withered and dead. But the couple didn't seem to care.

The way they looked at each other, with such devotion and love, made Melody believe that the two had been meant to be together since they met. An instant connection. It actually made the brunette a bit envious.

"Those are my parents not too long after they got married," Cassie's voice resounded through the small space, causing Melody to jump in surprise. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

Melody just smiled with a light exhale, turning back to the plethora of pictures. "It's fine. They look so happy together."

"They were." Cassie gave a sad smile as she came to stand beside the younger girl.

Melody's eyes widened and she snapped her head back to look at Cassie. "I'm so sorry. I-I didn't–"

"I know." Cassie cut her off, offering a light smile. "It's okay."

A moment of silence passed between the two, both of them now looking at the photos.

"Can I ask what happened?" Melody asked cautiously, not sure hot the light skinned girl would react to her curiosity, that could easily be interpreted as inconsiderate.

Cassie let out a small sigh. "It was their anniversary, about 3 and a half years ago. They were driving back from a cruise, and started to argue over something trivial. Dad took his eyes off the road for a second to yell something at my mother and he missed the deer walk into the road. Mom survived; Dad didn't." Cassie reached out to take down a photo of her and her parents before continuing. "Mom blamed herself for the accident and has been doing everything she can to forget ever since. She travels a lot to help."

Melody can't even begin to imagine how it would feel to lose her significant other. If she had one. She might, and they might be out there somewhere looking for her, worried about her; not having a clue in the world where she was or even if she was alive. But she just didn't know.

She did know that she wouldn't be able to beat the thought of losing them. She'd love them with her heart and soul. They would mean everything to her and nothing less. Someone whom she'd do anything for just to see them happy, healthy, and alive. And judging by the look on Cassie's mother's face _– reflected back in her father's eyes_ – they felt the same way.

"I miss him like crazy, but I know that if I stop what I was doing before he died, I wouldn't be honoring his memory."

A melancholic smile made its way onto Cassie's face, remembering all the times her father encouraged her to follow her dreams and go to the college she wanted. To meet the right person for her and leave Missouri for someplace bigger and brighter for the star she was.

"Enough about my life, though. I should show you where you're gonna be sleeping."

Melody nodded lightly, following Cassie back out and up the stairs.

Once they reached the top, Cassie took a right and walked down the hall to the furthest door on the left.

"This is the guest bedroom, which you'll be staying in until you're ready to leave. And because you don't have any clothes of your own, you can borrow some of mine until we get you come."

Melody stepped into the room, listening to Cassie explain things while she looked around.

The room was mostly empty, save for a full-size bed, a dresser on one wall, and a door leading to a closet on the other. Not that Melody minded the open space made her feel slightly more comfortable there.

"The bathroom is the first door on the left at the top of the stairs when you need it. We'll get you some toiletries later, but until then, there is a spare toothbrush in the medicine cabinet. And if you need anything other than that, my room is literally across the hall."

Cassie pointed to the closed door that was across the hall. Melody actually figured Cassie would sleep in one of the rooms farther down the hall, not so close to her. Not that the brunette minded, she felt safer and more content around the light skinned girl.

"Other than that, make yourself at home. You might be here for a while." Cassie said, though not unkindly.

As Cassie turned back from the door, she ran into a soft, warm body and arms immediately wrapped around her. She hadn't even realized how close the younger girl had gotten.

"Thank you, Cassie. For everything," Melody whispered into Cassie's dark hair, causing a shiver to run down the older girl's neck when her warm break hit it. "I don't know where I would be if it hadn't been you that found me."

It took her a moment to come back to herself, but when she did, Cassie wrapped her arms around the brunette, willing her heart to slow down to where it wasn't nearly beating out of her chest.

"I just want to help. It's no trouble at all." Cassie tried to keep her voice as calm and level as possible.

She didn't know what it was about this girl that got her heart pounding. She was a victim of a possibly traumatic event; Cassie was supposed to be helping her through it, not succumbing to her own forbidden desires.

Cassie was the one to end the embrace that, when she came to think of it, last a bit longer than a platonic hug of gratitude should've lasted.

"I should start on lunch," Cassie made her way towards the door, pausing for a moment to look at the girl, who seemed a bit…lost? Confused? "Like I said before, feel free to make yourself at home."

She didn't even wait for a reply or even a confirming glance before she turned and strode intently out of the room.

 **A/N: R &R please. You can always just say how your day's going. Your favorite quote from SPN. Sam girl? Dean girl? Cas girl? Other? Undecided? Why?**


End file.
